With its pristine waters and sandy beaches, it was once considered among the Mediterranean’s most beautiful unsung holiday destinations.
Now Giglio, the island blighted by the Costa Concordia shipwreck, is suing the ship’s disgraced captain saying its image has been ‘irreparably damaged’ by the cruise ship tragedy.
Lawyers for the tiny islet are seeking damages of 80million euro.
Captain Francesco Schettino was at the command of the Concordia cruise liner when it slammed into reef off the island in January last year, killing 32 people.
The accident was the worst maritime disaster in Italy since the Second World War.
Commanders had allegedly attempted a ‘sail past salute’ when the ship hit reef tearing a massive hole in its belly.
Criminal proceedings against Schettino, dubbed Captain Coward and Captain Calamity, began today in Grosseto, Tuscany.
Schettino is accused of multiple manslaughter and abandonment of post before the evacuation of all 4,200 passengers and crew.
Giglio's municipality is seeking to be made a civil plaintiff in the trial, because of the ‘irreparable damage’ to their own identity, its tourism industry and its image, which it says is now destined to be associated with the tragedy.
The legal petition demanded damages of at least 80 million euros.
Alessandro Maria Lecce, the lawyer hired by the island Giglio, told the Daily Mail: ‘The damages we request are for the citizens who have not been able to lead a normal life since the wreck, the local council which has been unable to do anything but handle the crisis.
Scroll down for video
Tragic: The luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia leans on its side after running aground off the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy
Thirty-two people died when the Costa Concordia sank making it the worst maritime disaster in Italy since the Second World War
VIDEO See 'Captain Calamity' arriving in court to face charges
Captain Calamity Francesco Schettino in court accused of multiple...
‘It also reflects the damage done to the island's image.
‘The island has become famous all over the world. But when people talk of Giglio they talk of nothing but the Concordia tragedy, the shipwreck and the dead.
‘It’s destroyed tourism-the livelihood of the island.’
The semi-submerged ship has not yet been removed.
Schettino said nothing as he arrived for the preliminary hearing looking tanned and relaxed, although his lawyer said he was ‘focused as always.’
Today the owner of the Costa Concordia also asked the court to consider it a victim of the disaster.
Costa Crociere Spa made the request during the opening of a preliminary hearing into the sinking and whether to issue indictments against the captain and crew.
The cruise company Costa is also seeking to be named as a civil plaintiff, saying it has suffered 'huge damages.'
In Italy, civil plaintiffs can join criminal proceedings as damaged parties.
Costa is also obliged to pay a one million euros fine as the result of plea-bargaining earlier in the same case.
The luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia leans on its side after running aground off the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy
Now Giglio, the island blighted by the Costa Concordia shipwreck, is suing the ship’s disgraced captain saying its image has been ‘irreparably damaged’ by the cruise ship tragedy.
Lawyers for the tiny islet are seeking damages of 80million euro.
Captain Francesco Schettino was at the command of the Concordia cruise liner when it slammed into reef off the island in January last year, killing 32 people.
The accident was the worst maritime disaster in Italy since the Second World War.
Commanders had allegedly attempted a ‘sail past salute’ when the ship hit reef tearing a massive hole in its belly.
Criminal proceedings against Schettino, dubbed Captain Coward and Captain Calamity, began today in Grosseto, Tuscany.
Schettino is accused of multiple manslaughter and abandonment of post before the evacuation of all 4,200 passengers and crew.
Giglio's municipality is seeking to be made a civil plaintiff in the trial, because of the ‘irreparable damage’ to their own identity, its tourism industry and its image, which it says is now destined to be associated with the tragedy.
The legal petition demanded damages of at least 80 million euros.
Alessandro Maria Lecce, the lawyer hired by the island Giglio, told the Daily Mail: ‘The damages we request are for the citizens who have not been able to lead a normal life since the wreck, the local council which has been unable to do anything but handle the crisis.
Scroll down for video
Tragic: The luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia leans on its side after running aground off the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy
Thirty-two people died when the Costa Concordia sank making it the worst maritime disaster in Italy since the Second World War
VIDEO See 'Captain Calamity' arriving in court to face charges
Captain Calamity Francesco Schettino in court accused of multiple...
‘It also reflects the damage done to the island's image.
‘The island has become famous all over the world. But when people talk of Giglio they talk of nothing but the Concordia tragedy, the shipwreck and the dead.
‘It’s destroyed tourism-the livelihood of the island.’
The semi-submerged ship has not yet been removed.
Schettino said nothing as he arrived for the preliminary hearing looking tanned and relaxed, although his lawyer said he was ‘focused as always.’
Today the owner of the Costa Concordia also asked the court to consider it a victim of the disaster.
Costa Crociere Spa made the request during the opening of a preliminary hearing into the sinking and whether to issue indictments against the captain and crew.
The cruise company Costa is also seeking to be named as a civil plaintiff, saying it has suffered 'huge damages.'
In Italy, civil plaintiffs can join criminal proceedings as damaged parties.
Costa is also obliged to pay a one million euros fine as the result of plea-bargaining earlier in the same case.
The luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia leans on its side after running aground off the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy